They Are Not Human

Chapter 14

It was late morning, when everyone decided to get out of bed. We all had a late night, and were all extremely groggy from the lack of sleep. Arlo however, was bouncing off the walls, talking a mile a minute and just being his annoying self. Everyone displayed a lack of patience and mild irritation towards him, I think hurting his feelings in the process.

As I observed the situation, I began to feel bad him. I think everyone could agree that Arlo was a strange character. He was awkward, and had a hard time picking up on social ques. I could tell he just desperately wanted to be accepted, but didn't know how to go about it at times. Yes, he had his annoying quirks, but you could tell he was a kind person, with a good heart. I felt saddened by the fact that he was an outsider in this dysfunctional family.

In that moment, I knew I had to reach out to him. I had no doubt in my mind that everyone here loved him, but I think what Arlo really needed was a friend. In a way I think I needed a friend too. I was carrying around so many secrets and emotions, that I felt like I was tearing at the seams.

I walk the short distance over to where he was sitting, almost slipping on the now compacted snow in the process. I sit down next to him, but he doesn't bother looking up to acknowledge me. He clearly was lost in his own world having a full-fledged pity party. "Hey, do you want to take a walk with me, and grab some firewood?" I say in the nicest voice possible. His face immediately lights up "Sure" he says with a cheery tone.

We walk quietly through the woods, making comments here and there about the scenery around us. The sun had come out this morning, warming our frigid bodies. An hour or so had passed, and we finally spotted an old rotted tree stump we could sit down on and take a break before we headed back.

I sat there quietly for a moment, tossing around the idea if I should tell Arlo all the details about my past and Jakove. If Arlo was going to be my friend, I had to know he was a trusted source to tell these things to. Here goes nothing I thought. "I have a confession to make" I say, finally breaking the silence between us.

"Yes?" Arlo responds with curiosity in his voice. I knew he was unsure where this was going, and to be honest I didn't know either. There had been so much that had happened between us in this short period of time, I knew I owed him some sort of explanation for my behavior.

"Yeah" I say looking down at the ground. "The reason I brought you out here wasn't to get firewood, but to get you alone so we could talk". I finish the rest of the sentence feeling slightly ashamed.

"Oh?" was all he could manage to say. I could feel his eyes searching my face, looking for clues to give him some idea where this conversation was going. "Is this like a secret or something?" he asks with a boyish curiosity.

"No...I mean kind of...I don't know." I say confused about what my true intentions were. I put my face into my hands, irritated by my own existence.

"You can trust me, ya know?" he says with such certainty, reassuringly patting me on the shoulder. "I won't tell anyone, if you don't want me to."

I glance up and look into at his big brown eyes. They were very comforting, and not intrusive; I could tell he meant every word he said. I take a deep breath, preparing myself, and cleansing away the negative thoughts. "Okay" I finally say after some mental preparation.

After that the words started to pour out of me. I told Arlo all about my dad, and the events leading up to his capture. The memories were painful to live through, but Arlo gave me the reassurance that I needed to continue on.

Next I told him all about Jakove, and all the strange events that seemed to follow after that. Conveniently I left out the part about the Mangata. This information was too personal to share in my opinion, and would only cause concern and suspicion if I brought it up.